Wilkinson Stekloff Nets Top NCAA Legal Bill of $11 Million (1)

The NCAA paid $28.3 million to five law firms amid antitrust litigation during its past fiscal year, with Wilkinson Stekloff LLP securing the most legal fees, according to a tax document released Friday.

The Washington-based litigation boutique pulled in $11 million during the one-year period from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024, the filing shows. That’s slightly more than double the $5.4 million the NCAA paid Wilkinson Stekloff during the fiscal year that ended August 2023.

Barnes & Thornburg LLP earned $5.3 million in legal fees, netting the biggest haul after Wilkinson Stekloff. Barnes & Thornburg and the NCAA are both based in Indianapolis.

The five law firms, the NCAA’s highest paid vendors during its previous fiscal year, also included Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP with $4.8 million, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP with $3.7 million, and Latham & Watkins LLP with $3.6 million.

Orrick, which defended the NCAA in concussion and wrongful death litigation, led the pack in the fiscal year that ended August 2023 with more than $16.7 million in legal fees. Bills totaled more than $35 million across five law firms then.

An NCAA spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Court Deal

Wilkinson Stekloff represented the NCAA in a $2.8 billion deal settling an antitrust case over student-athlete pay earlier this month, after five years of litigation.

A federal judge on June 6 gave final approval to the settlement letting colleges pay student-athletes directly for the first time. But female athletes appealed the deal, saying it unjustly is giving more money to men than women. College athletes sued the NCAA and its Power Five conferences in 2020, seeking compensation for the use of their names, images, and likenesses.

Bryan Seeley, a longtime in-house lawyer with Major League Baseball, was hired this month to be the CEO for the College Sports Commission, a new body formed to take over regulatory enforcement duties in the collegiate sports space as mandated by the settlement. The commission is independent of the NCAA.

NCAA president Charlie Baker called the agreement over the antitrust litigation a “huge step forward for college sports.” Baker joined the NCAA in 2023 after serving as Massachusetts governor.

Baker earned $3.4 million in total compensation during the 2023 calendar year, according to its new tax filing. The organization previously disclosed the Republican former governor had no “reportable compensation.”

Former NCAA president Mark Emmert received $6.3 million in 2023, his final year leading the organization. His total compensation included a $4.3 million severance payment.